Bills' backup QB Gibran Hamdan waits for his chance

BILLS CAMP: Gibran Hamdan has made the most of his time in Buffalo, even if he rarely gets on the field.

Bryan Sullivan

Gibran Hamdan isn’t like a lot of his teammates.

The third-string quarterback’s chances of seeing the field aren’t nearly as good as some of the team’s other backups. In fact, he has yet to hit the field during a regular-season game since he joined the Buffalo Bills in 2007.

However, one look at Hamdan during training camp, and you would think the career backup was going to be the Week 1 starter. He spends practices leading the backups and working the drills as if he were the man in charge.

“We’re all excited on offense because of the changes that have been made,” Hamdan said after training camp at St. John Fisher College the other day. “It’s going to be up to us football players to execute and win some more games.”

Hamdan was promoted to the Bills’ active roster on Oct. 20, 2007. He signed with the Bills to be on their practice squad after being released by Miami on Sept. 1 that year.

His first season, he was the third QB for 12 games before being moved into the No. 2 spot for the last four. Last year, Hamdan was third again for the first 14 games after completing 64 percent of his passes for 258 yards in the preseason. He moved into the backup role with two games remaining.

“I think that Gibran has been great,” said Bills quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt. “He’s worked hard, and he’s got the trust of the other guys on offense. He just needs to get some game experience.”

That may be difficult to come by for the 6-foot-4, 220-pound 28-year-old who is behind starter Trent Edwards and backup Ryan Fitzpatrick on the depth chart. But while he never wishes an injury for those in front of him, he knows that his chance could come at anytime in the rough-and-tumble world of the NFL.

“I have thought about the first start, but it’s been tough because it has been a grind for awhile,” Hamdan said. “Obviously, you think about that and you hope you are successful.”

Hamdan came to the NFL in 2003 out of Indiana as a seventh-round draft pick of the Washington Redskins. He had stints with Seattle, San Francisco and Miami before coming to Buffalo, and though he played in just one game with those three teams — 2003 for Washington — he continued to work and make sure he was sharp.

He played in NFL Europa from 2004-06 with Amsterdam and was named the league’s MVP in 2006 after throwing for 1,629 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“It’s been a great learning experience for me,” Hamdan said. “I’ve been around some great coaches and quarterbacks. The fact that I haven’t been rushed into playing might help me down the road.”

Hamdan’s childhood resembled his early nomadic football career.

He was born in San Diego, and his family moved to Kuwait when he was 3. Fortunately, they moved out of Kuwait before the Gulf War.

“I had a blast living in Kuwait,” Hamdan said. “Growing up, you become comfortable. It didn’t take long for (Kuwait) to feel like home. It was all I knew for awhile.”

Back in the States, Hamdan finished high school at Bishop O’Connell in Arlington, Va. where he was an outstanding athlete, playing football, basketball and baseball. He also baseball played for the 15-and-under U.S. national team.

After high school, Hamdan headed to Bloomington where he played both football and baseball for the Hoosiers.

He threw for 2,115 yards and nine touchdowns his senior year with his most impressive performance coming in a Big Ten Conference win over Wisconsin when he threw for 310 yards and four TDs.

On the diamond, he started his final three years at first base. He graduated from Indiana with a degree in marketing.

“It was great,” Hamdan said about attending IU. “I played baseball and football, so I felt honored to have the chance to play two sports. It was an experience that I will never forget.”

In 2008, he was named the top Arab-American athlete by Nox Magazine, a men’s lifestyle magazine based in Amman, Jordan. He also actively volunteers in a number of activities around Buffalo, particularly the Salvation Army.